The Katsina state Governor, Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari has pledged to explore more areas of cooperation with the board of management of federal medical Centre, Katsina towards the establishment of a teaching hospital for Umar Musa Yar’adua University.

Alhaji Aminu Bello Masari was speaking when he received the chairman of the board of management of federal medical Centre, Katsina, Hajiya Hannatu Akilu who led other members to pay a courtesy visit on him at government house, Katsina.

The Governor explained that the state government tried to convert federal medical Centre, Katsina to a teaching hospital but officials of federal ministry of health quickly point out that the federal university in the state may require the institution to convert to a teaching hospital ,even though he said such approval were granted to Gombe, Ekiti and Ebonyi.

He informed the board that a very good cordial relationship existed between the Katsina state government and the Federal Medical Center, Katsina.

Even though a federal establishment, Governor Masari said the Centre had been serving people of Katsina and even neighboring Niger Republic meritoriously.

He assured that within the limited resources at the disposal of the government, the center would continue to be assisted to discharge its assignment creditably.

Earlier, the chairperson of the Federal Medical Center, Katsina, Hajiya Hannatu Akilu told the Governor that the board was inaugurated on the 6th of March, this year.

She announced that the center had recorded a lot of achievements during its 20 years of existence.

Hajiya Hannatu said FMC now had a workforce of 1320 against 200 at inception.

She noted that the achievements recorded would not have been possible work without the synergy that existed between Katsina state government and the management of the Centre.

Hajiya Hannatu Akilu commended Governor Masari for providing monthly grants and provision of free malaria drugs as well as life saving ambulance to the medical Centre.

She also showered encomiums on Governor Masari for the achievements in the health sector, which she said include a programme launched to save one million lives that improved maternal, new born and child health as well as reduced mother to child transmission of HIV, improve routine immunisation coverage for achieving polio eradication among others.